MLB Power Rankings: Top 10 Shakeup as Braves, Red Sox Climb and Astros Plummet
The New York Yankees and New York Mets remain firmly entrenched in the top two spots in our weekly MLB power rankings, but there was a ton of shuffling below them in the top 10 this week.
The red-hot Atlanta Braves are once again looking like a legitimate title contender, the Toronto Blue Jays are playing well, and the Boston Red Sox are officially a top-10 team for the first time this season. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros both had down weeks, and they dropped in the rankings as a result.
As always, if a team keeps winning, it will keep climbing these rankings. If a team is losing, a slide is inevitable. The beauty of this exercise is that it's a fluid process and things will continue to change.
Note: Statistics and analysis reflect games through Sunday. Team records have been updated to include Monday's results.
30. Oakland Athletics (21-41)
Previous Rank: 29
The Athletics are 1-9 in June and 2-14 overall in their last 16 games. After climbing as high as No. 13 in these rankings back in April, they now seem poised to be a weekly staple in the bottom five. At least former top prospect Christian Bethancourt has been a bright spot as of late with a 123 OPS+ in 127 plate appearances.
29. Kansas City Royals (20-40)
Previous Rank: 30
After getting shut out on Monday and Tuesday, the Royals won three in a row before settling for a four-game series split with the Baltimore Orioles after losses on Saturday and Sunday. It looks like top prospect MJ Melendez is up for good. How long before we see the next high-profile call-up?
28. Cincinnati Reds (22-39)
Previous Rank: 28
The Reds snapped a four-game losing streak and avoided a sweep with a 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. The offense continues to be wildly inconsistent, as they went from scoring 14 runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday to getting shut out twice in their next three games.
27. Chicago Cubs (23-37)
Previous Rank: 23
The Cubs were outscored 28-5 in a three-game series sweep against the New York Yankees, and Sunday's loss ran their losing streak to six games. It's time to start taking inventory of moveable parts as we get closer to trade season. Along with catcher Willson Contreras, expect to see relievers David Robertson and Mychal Givens generate plenty of interest.
26. Los Angeles Angels (29-33)
Previous Rank: 24
The Angels finally snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, but their tumble down the rankings continues after two more series losses last week. We could see Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen on the trade block this summer if they don't right the ship soon.
25. Detroit Tigers (24-36)
Previous Rank: 26
The Tigers played only five games last week, taking two quick ones from the Pittsburgh Pirates before getting outscored 17-4 by the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game weekend series loss. The relief corps continues to be a strength with a 2.82 ERA that ranks second in the majors.
24. Washington Nationals (23-40)
Previous Rank: 27
A weekend series win over the Milwaukee Brewers was enough for the Nationals to climb three spots, as they have quietly won three of their last five series. Sluggers Josh Bell (140 OPS+, 7 HR, 37 RBI) and Nelson Cruz (120 OPS+, 7 HR, 35 RBI) have done well protecting Juan Soto in the middle of the lineup.
23. Pittsburgh Pirates (24-35)
Previous Rank: 18
After steadily pushing toward the top 15, the Pirates slide back five spots following an 0-6 showing against the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves last week. Outfielder Bryan Reynolds is hitting .410/.429/.667 with three home runs in 42 plate appearances in June, and he now has a 116 OPS+ on the year despite his slow start.
22. Baltimore Orioles (26-36)
Previous Rank: 22
The O's went 3-2 last week amid rumors that they could be sold or moved after news broke that Louis Angelos—the son of owner Peter Angelos—is suing his family for control of the team. That's certainly a story worth monitoring, despite follow-up reports that the team won't be moved.
21. Chicago White Sox (28-31)
Previous Rank: 15
With "Fire Tony!" chants raining down from the home crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox went 2-4 last week and suffered series losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers. They wrapped up the week with extra-inning losses on Saturday and Sunday, and it might be only a matter of time before they do make a managerial change.
20. Texas Rangers (29-31)
Previous Rank: 20
A weekend series win on the road against the Chicago White Sox was enough to keep the Rangers in the No. 20 spot even though they dropped two of three to the Cleveland Guardians earlier in the week. After a glacial start to the season, Marcus Semien is batting .286/.327/.612 with five home runs in 11 games this month.
19. Colorado Rockies (27-34)
Previous Rank: 25
The Rockies had a successful week, as they took two of three from the San Francisco Giants and split a four-game series with the San Diego Padres to improve to 11-18 on the road this season. Now they head home to take on the Cleveland Guardians before a quick rematch with the Padres.
18. Arizona Diamondbacks (29-34)
Previous Rank: 19
The D-backs went 4-6 on their recent 10-game road trip, and since briefly climbing above .500 with a 23-22 record on May 24, they've gone 6-11 with a minus-20 run differential. Lefty reliever Joe Mantiply deserves more attention on a national level, as he's allowed only one earned run with a 22-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 23.1 innings to start the year.
17. Seattle Mariners (27-34)
Previous Rank: 17
With a 3-3 record last week that included a series loss to the Boston Red Sox and a series win over the Houston Astros, the Mariners continue to tread water in the middle of the MLB pack. With 18 of their next 21 games against the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, now is their time to make a push up the standings.
16. Miami Marlins (27-32)
Previous Rank: 21
The Marlins improved to 8-4 in June after sweeping the Washington Nationals and taking two of three from the Houston Astros last week. Hard-throwing lefty Tanner Scott has settled into the closer's role and helped bring some stability to the back of the bullpen, tallying two wins and three saves in his last five appearances.
15. Milwaukee Brewers (34-28)
Previous Rank: 8
The Brewers lost eight in a row before finally snapping their skid with a 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday. The offense has been shut out three times in 11 games this month, and getting Willy Adames and Omar Narvaez back last week did little to jump-start their attack. The schedule won't get any easier this week, as the New York Mets await.
14. Philadelphia Phillies (31-30)
Previous Rank: 16
The Phillies improved to 8-1 under interim manager Rob Thomson with a 5-1 showing last week that included a sweep of the Brewers and a series win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ace Zack Wheeler has a 1.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 64 strikeouts in 50.2 innings over his last eight starts.
13. Cleveland Guardians (29-27)
Previous Rank: 14
The Guardians took care of business against the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics at home last week with a 5-2 record, and they entered the week only three games back in the AL Central race. Outfielder Oscar Gonzalez has provided a nice spark offensively with a .391/.400/.531 line and a 166 OPS+ through his first 65 plate appearances.
12. St. Louis Cardinals (35-27)
Previous Rank: 5
The Cardinals rebounded from getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays to take two of three from the Cincinnati Reds, but they are now just 14-16 against teams with a winning record. With Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan and Juan Yepez all hot out of the gates, there was bound to be a lull offensively at some point.
11. San Francisco Giants (34-26)
Previous Rank: 12
A weekend series sweep of the rival Los Angeles Dodgers has the Giants trending in the right direction, but it came on the heels of a series loss to the Colorado Rockies. The Giants pitching staff held the Dodgers to only four runs in three games, including a Carlos Rodon-led shutout on Sunday. Can they use that momentum to their advantage?
10. Tampa Bay Rays (35-25)
Previous Rank: 10
The Rays are 7-4 with a plus-15 run differential in June, and they're doing it with Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe, Mike Zunino and breakout reliever J.P. Feyereisen all on the injured list. They are 10-6 against the rest of the AL East entering a big three-game road series against the New York Yankees.
9. Minnesota Twins (36-27)
Previous Rank: 9
A weekend series win over the Rays kept the Twins in the No. 9 spot and gave them a three-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. After hitting only .169 with five home runs in May, outfielder Byron Buxton launched five home runs last week alone, and he has a 1.401 OPS through his first 37 plate appearances this month.
8. Houston Astros (37-24)
Previous Rank: 3
The Astros fell five spots after suffering series losses to the Seattle Mariners and Miami Marlins last week, but they still entered the new week with a comfortable 8.5-game lead in the AL West standings. With another solid week at the plate, Yordan Alvarez is now hitting .311/.402/.628 for a 192 OPS+ with 17 home runs and 41 RBI.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers (37-23)
Previous Rank: 4
The Dodgers are 2-6 in their last eight games, and after getting swept by the rival San Francisco Giants over the weekend, they fall outside the top five in these rankings for the first time since the second week of the season. Losing Walker Buehler to a forearm strain will test their rotation depth even further.
6. Boston Red Sox (32-29)
Previous Rank: 11
The Red Sox improved to 9-2 in June with road series wins over the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners last week, and they are now 19-15 with a plus-43 run differential away from Fenway Park. Rookie Kutter Crawford tossed five shutout innings in his first start of the year on Sunday.
5. San Diego Padres (38-24)
Previous Rank: 6
With a series win over the New York Mets and a four-game split with the Colorado Rockies, the Padres closed the gap to a half-game in the NL West standings entering play on Monday. NL Cy Young front-runner Joe Musgrove lowered his ERA to 1.50 with six shutout innings on Friday, and the team has gone 10-1 in his 11 starts this year.
4. Toronto Blue Jays (36-24)
Previous Rank: 7
The Blue Jays were 18-17 following a series loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 15, but they've gone 17-7 with a plus-49 run differential since. However, they've still lost ground to the New York Yankees during that stretch, and those two teams will square off this weekend for a big three-game series in Toronto.
3. Atlanta Braves (35-27)
Previous Rank: 13
With an 11-game winning streak to begin the month of June after sweeping a four-game series from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Braves are the hottest team in baseball right now. The offense is clicking, the rotation looked great last week, and the pieces have fallen into place in the bullpen with Will Smith, A.J. Minter and Kenley Jansen handling the late innings.
2. New York Mets (40-22)
Previous Rank: 2
The Mets have a big enough cushion as the top team in the National League that a series loss to the San Diego Padres last week was not enough to knock them out of the No. 2 spot. Slugger Pete Alonso maintained his NL lead in home runs (18) and RBI (57) with a pair of long balls over the weekend.
1. New York Yankees (44-16)
Previous Rank: 1
With a 10-1 start to June and an MLB-best 44 wins entering play Monday, the Yankees have a firm hold on the No. 1 spot. Through Sunday, they led the majors in OPS (.769), home runs (98), ERA (2.85), WHIP (1.06) and opponents' batting average (.215), and their plus-127 run differential is also tops in the big leagues.
Complete Rankings
1. New York Yankees
2. New York Mets
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. San Diego Padres
6. Boston Red Sox
7. Los Angeles Dodgers
8. Houston Astros
9. Minnesota Twins
10. Tampa Bay Rays
11. San Francisco Giants
12. St. Louis Cardinals
13. Cleveland Guardians
14. Philadelphia Phillies
15. Milwaukee Brewers
16. Miami Marlins
17. Seattle Mariners
18. Arizona Diamondbacks
19. Colorado Rockies
20. Texas Rangers
21. Chicago White Sox
22. Baltimore Orioles
23. Pittsburgh Pirates
24. Washington Nationals
25. Detroit Tigers
26. Los Angeles Angels
27. Chicago Cubs
28. Cincinnati Reds
29. Kansas City Royals
30. Oakland Athletics
Marcus Semien entered the Texas Rangers' doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians last Tuesday hitting .196/.257/.292 with three home runs through his first 52 games and 230 plate appearances in a Texas Rangers uniform.
When the day came to a close, he was hitting .221/.280/.355 and he had doubled his home run total following a 7-for-8 showing with three home runs to help the Rangers split the double dip.
It's been a trying start to the year for Semien after he signed a seven-year, $175 million deal during the offseason, but he seems to finally be turning a corner.
"That's nothing I've changed, but it's just constant work in the cage and constantly trying to get in a position where you're hitting fastballs, taking breaking balls out of the zone and controlling the strike zone all at the same time," Semien told reporters. "I'm doing those things. I usually do a lot better, so I think I'm on the right track."
C Salvador Perez, KC
(8-for-28, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 7 RBI)
1B Christian Bethancourt, OAK
(9-for-18, 3 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI)
2B Marcus Semien, TEX
(10-for-26, 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI)
3B Eduardo Escobar, NYM
(9-for-25, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI)
SS Bo Bichette, TOR
(10-for-25, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
OF Bryan Reynolds, PIT
(11-for-23, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
OF Yordan Alvarez, HOU
(10-for-23, 2 2B, HR, 7 RBI)
OF Byron Buxton, MIN
(7-for-21, 2B, 5 HR, 7 RBI)
DH Jake Burger, CWS
(10-for-24, 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI)
SP Hunter Greene, CIN
(2 GS, W, ND, 12.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 15 K)
SP Ross Stripling, TOR
(2 GS, 2 W, 11.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)
SP Justin Verlander, HOU
(2 GS, 2 W, 14.0 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 17 K)
SP Sandy Alcantara, MIA
(1 GS, ND, 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)
SP Michael Wacha, BOS
(2 GS, W, ND, 13.1 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K)
RP Kenley Jansen, ATL
(4 G, 4/4 SV, 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)
AL MVP
1. Aaron Judge, NYY
2. Jose Ramirez, CLE
3. Rafael Devers, BOS
NL MVP
1. Paul Goldschmidt, STL
2. Manny Machado, SD
3. Mookie Betts, LAD
AL Cy Young
1. Shane McClanahan, TB
2. Justin Verlander, HOU
3. Alek Manoah, TOR
NL Cy Young
1. Joe Musgrove, SD
2. Sandy Alcantara, MIA
3. Tony Gonsolin, LAD
AL Rookie of the Year
1. Jeremy Pena, HOU
2. Julio Rodriguez, SEA
3. Joe Ryan, MIN
NL Rookie of the Year
1. MacKenzie Gore, SD
2. Spencer Strider, ATL
3. Brendan Donovan, STL
Stats courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.
